Skate FAQ

The Skate

How did the Skate ministry begin at Third?

Skate church began about eight years ago after Eric Hanenburg, the youth director, went to Portland to check out a skate complex there. We then modeled Third’s Skate Church after the one in Portland. The ministry was really strong for quite a few years, but when I arrived last year, I was asked to evaluate whether it was a ministry worth continuing because numbers had been declining. The decline was due in large part because there had been no specific contact person for the ministry from Third to oversee the administration and promotion of the ministry. Once we did a couple of Skate Church sessions I found it to be a gold mine, an incredible ministry that brings a lot of un-churched kids right to our church door. As it continued through the summer, kids would come during the week and stop at my office or tap on the window and we’d have lots of exchanges that led to connections and relationships. Since a lot of the kids were from Lynden School District, I began to also have more connections within the public school system.

Why did the ministry continue into the fall?

Toward the end of summer one young man asked why it was going to close in the fall. In a conversation with Mike Johnson (a volunteer at Skate Church) and Sean Taylor (the youth pastor at Christ The King), we found it would be possible to work with Christ the King Church and move Skate Church to the Fairgrounds. CTK would pay the monthly rental fee in exchange for using our skate ramps during their regular youth group meetings. Skate Church moved to the “Jansen barn” the end of September 2005 and since then we’ve been averaging 20-25 kids on both Monday and Thursday nights.

What’s the “thing” they skateboard on?

The big ramp that sits out behind the education building at Third is called a half pipe. Even though we would’ve liked to move the half-pipe over to the fairgrounds we just couldn’t do it because it is too big and it wouldn’t fit in the barn. After talking it over with the skaters we decided that we needed to build a new “mini” half pipe that would fit in the barn. In order to build it we needed to purchase some plans. I ended up calling some company in New Jersey to order plans, and when I spoke with the guy he told me that he went to the skate church in Portland when he was a kid. Later he called Cynthia and told her he would send the plans but wouldn’t charge us for it because he thought what we were doing was so important! Through out the week I usually get at least on call or e-mail from some other churches asking us about Skate Church and how they can get one started.

Back to the mini half pipe, we didn’t end up needing to build one because one was donated by a family in Sumas soon after I ordered the plans to build one. They said they were moving and thought that their mini half pipe would be better used at Skate Church. In the end, in the next couple of weeks we should have a mini half pipe that we can use at the fairgrounds.

What’s the format of Skate Church?

Skate Church begins at 6:30 pm on Monday & Thursday nights. Students come and are asked to pay a dollar. This money is used to help pay for building and repair the skate ramps. We hope that in having the students pay a dollar it will give them a feeling of some ownership of the ramps. If they don’t have a dollar that night, they are still allowed to skate anyways. Once the students have registered and checked in they then are required to go pick up a helmet in order to skate.

After about an hour of skating we have a fifteen minute devotional in which a brief message is given and prayer requests are shared with each other. Just two weeks ago after the devotional we asked again if anyone had a prayer request. Usually it can be pretty quiet, but this time one guy raised his hand. That in itself was amazing because he tends to be a more tough and quiet guy. His request was that we pray for his dad who had broken his leg in three places in a motorcycle accident.

During our devotional time we also have some snacks that have been provided by many volunteers at Third. This helps to keep many of the students attention while I speak. After the devotional time we skate for about another 45 minutes and then the students are on their way by about 8:30 pm.

Who comes?

Of the 40-50 kids who attend each week, we usually get two or three new people show up each week. Monday night is meant for middle school students and younger, and Thursday night is meant for high school students and older. Since moving to the fairgrounds we have been getting about an equal mix of students that go to Lynden Public, and Lynden Christian. It has been good to watch the students hang out and interact together while skating.

Any needs and/or prayer requests?

The prayer team has coordinated that people from Third are specifically praying for different kids at Skate Church. I have personally already noticed a difference in a number of students. If you are one of those people who are praying for a student at Skate church and would like to talk more about them please come talk with me.
Since some of the core skate guys have “faith”, pray that they will stay strong and be an influence for good to the others.
We are very thankful that we have a number of volunteers from Third helping out on Monday’s and Thursdays, but we could always use more.

Third Christian Reformed Church • 514 Liberty Street • Lynden WA 98264
Phone 360-354-1448 • FAX 360-354-4381 •